What Works in Reentry Clearinghouse

Welcome to the What Works in Reentry Clearinghouse, a “one-stop shop” for research on the effectiveness of a wide variety of reentry programs and practices.

New to What Works?

There are several ways to navigate the What Works site. If you’re seeking information on specific programs, interventions, or evaluations, the best place to begin is the search box that reads “Search What Works” in the middle of the What Works navigation bar. Typing your terms into the box and clicking the magnifying glass icon will yield a results page, where you can further narrow both your search and the results already displayed.

What Works also makes it easy to browse. Clicking Browse on the menu bar, just to the right of the search box, reveals a page displaying all the What Works focus areas and interventions. All focus areas are also listed on this page, in the upper right. By clicking on an individual focus area or intervention, you can then see and explore every program and research study affiliated with it.

Browse Focus Areas

Ratings Key

Strong Beneficial Evidence

Modest Beneficial Evidence

No Evidence of Effect

Modest Harmful Evidence

Strong Harmful Evidence

Each What Works study is evaluated on how the intervention it researched was shown to affect participant outcomes in three areas: recidivism, employment, and substance abuse. Each area receives an individual rating.

The study meets the What Works in Reentry Clearinghouse's "High" methodological criteria.

The study meets the What Works in Reentry Clearinghouse's "Basic" methodological criteria.

This website is funded in part through a grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs,
U.S. Department of Justice. Neither the U.S. Department of Justice nor any of its components
operate, control, are responsible for, or necessarily endorse, this website (including, without
limitation, its content, technical infrastructure, and policies, and any services or tools provided).